This blog is a result of the heavy censoring of the media by the military dictatorship regime.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Feedback on Snoqualmie's Seattle casino gives some idea of what's ahead for Fiji

American businessman Larry Claunch has yet to reveal how the Denarau and Suva casinos will be run other than to say it will have something like 500 slot machines and 54 gaming tables.

A look at the Seattle casino his business partner the native American Indian tribe, Snoqualmie, runs gives some idea to what the new controversial Fiji casinos will be like.

That casino has already divided tribal members and Seattle residents who have complained about too much smoke, the low calibre of artists, to the way the casino has generally failed to deliver prosperity to its estimated 600 members.

If anything, it is bringing in just a quarter of the revenue projected with the tribe unable to fix the problems because of in-house fighting.

Coverage by the Seattle Times has generated several thousand comments including the following, which gives some insight to what's ahead for Fiji. While there is some support for the tribe and what it is trying to do, most of the comments show a dislike for 'tacky' casinos and the failure of Snoqualmie to make good on its word.

leoflrzTacoma, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 12:01 PMGuess them feeling the economic pinch, which they also seeing the unemployment rate keep going up.

howard2woodinville, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:54 AMthis is not just an Indian problem, any time there is the perception of "easy" money," you are going to find greed which will lead to in-fighting.

AngryBadger24Smellevue, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:51 AMCasinos are in the business for one reason only: To Make Money !!Do they post the payback odds? no...Knowing an IT guy for a nameless company who knows the programs of these machines once said; A little salmon told me that the machines are 'geared to take'These Casinos are bogus..If you can afford to lose... go and have fun.. If you need to watch your pennies, dont go. save up for that something that you wanted to do before the casino moved into the area.. take a cruise or something..

raincityradio.orgseattle, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:43 AMHey jackasses..... news flash..... lots of people still smoke. The few evenings I have spent out at Snoquamie, the place was packed. I couldn't find a table with less than 4 people on it. Oh yeah, and 90% of the people in there were smoking. Obviously smoking isn't keeping people away from there. If you want a smoke free casino, go to a casino that doesn't allow smoking.

MacAoidhIssaquah, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:42 AMThe reason the place does not do well is simple: Depite its fantastic views and convenient parking, the place stinks of stale tobacco smoke, the food is lousy, and the employees are incredibly rude. These guys need to hire some people with some experience in the hospitality industry. If you want a night out, go to Ken's Truck Stop in North Bend. You will have a better time.

flushdrawcharlieSeattle, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:38 AMThe economy is still bad stupids. No one can just go and gamble away.

jake536kent, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:21 AMjanereader:You hit the nail on the head!Nobody wants to travel that far to get their house payment sucked from them in 20 minutes. Just like I think the lottery should do, have more winners of less and they will flock in. Instead of a one in a million chance of multi millions, one in a hudred of winning thousands. I haven't been to a casino or played lotto in a long time for that reason. Oh, and good service (see my earlier post of the scum sucking muckleshoots).

radiodaveyChehalis, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:19 AMAll it takes is an article saying there is a problem that some tribe is dealing with and all of the hypocrites start flinging their venom. Do all of you really want more people out of work? Do all of you really hate Native Americans that much? We have had years of leadership in this country that has promoted distrust and fear of all that are not 'white'. I am not native but my family were European Jews, and I think the pattern of racial and religious fear is sort of familiar. The tribe will figure it out and fix it. Everybody needs to relax and appreciate how many people of all color are working and have BENEFITS due to their casino!!!

nuhipsseattle, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:13 AMHave to agree with many posts, it is by far the most expensive of the local casinos. Buffet is way over priced and the senior discount is only good weekday afternoons. It doesn't even include prime rib! The rewards pay bacvk the least of any in the area along with the slots. I've never seen that many at the gaming tables so as someone else said, must be the games they don't like. But every casino I go to, the lowest blackjack buy in tables are always crowded while many others sit idle. there should be a message there.We have found the the Snoqualmie is the least smoky though. But they should look at the business their smoke free area does compared to the rest of the casino and expand that area.

Tundra219Fall City, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:10 AMMy husband and I live in the Snoqualmie Valley and went once to check out the casino. We were especially interested in the multiple dining options. We will never be back. Of all the casinos, the Snoqualmie's is by far the smokiest. Other casinos seem to mitigate this by better planning and ventilation. It's an afterthought at the Snoqualmie casino. The non-smoking section slot machines are right next to the smoking; it's a joke. The restaurants are completely smokey, so we won't consider any of them for meals.

ireseanLake Stevens, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 11:08 AMFirst off I can not stand the commercials music it drives me up a wall.The need to hire the right people to manage the casino and the tribes business structure.As for Smoking I Love my cigars but I keep smoke to myself, I do not want to visit any casino that looks Like LA air.

Phil07Everett, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 10:50 AMWhen they first starting running their costly $$$ TV ads I was curious about the other services they were offering. Remember the cigarette girl in the sexy dress who moved onto the tables and then hooked up with a "customer".Either they have a prostitution operation on the side or very poor employee rules, if any.I did notice in later ads they cleaned that one up a little so it would not be so obvious what she was doing.Being farther away from Seattle than the other casinos and subject to snow cutting off their revenues in the winter months I guess they needed other incentives to bring in customers.They could probably get more customers by offering free charter buses from the major cities in the area.I also wonder how a newly recognized Indian nation with hardly any business sense and terrible bookkeeping could borrow so much money. Not even a tribal constitution to follow. They must have watched "Field of Dreams" a few too many times... They should have started with a much smaller casino and then expanded as revenues allowed. Instead of just building the "field", they built a "stadium" expecting instant wealth.They need to drastically downsize and lease out the rest of the space, maybe to gamblers anonymous.Aside from solving their own internal issues, the tribe needs to hire a management team that knows how to run a FRIENDLY casino in the Northwest. The personnel that they installed since the opening of the casino clearly have a Las Vegas fleece-the-visiting-sucker sort of attitude. They do not like winners. And despite what they may market, their demeanor is very adversarial when it comes to the customers.The casino dining is expensive, but I certainly disagree that this casino caters to high-rollers. They put in 8 deck blackjack games, which worsens odds, and coupled that with mediocre rules. No high-roller is going like that. Also, as you can imagine after reading the article, they “sweat” large money being bet at their tables. I know a long-term losing gambler who got lucky one night last month and won $2k at the tables. He gave the chips to his girlfriend to cash out. After a 20-minute wait at the cage, they refused to redeem the chips because they couldn’t track which table she won them at. He had to drive back to the casino, give a play-by-play of what tables he was wagering at, have the pit personnel and surveillance verify it, and identify himself so they can “player track” him. Then they paid. I imagine if he wins again they may kick him out.Another wealthy Eastside player bought a betting system off the Internet and tried it at Snoqualmie. Now obviously an Internet betting system doesn’t win long-term, but it scared the ignorant casino management into barring him after a few visits. They were just too scared of the action. But then they wonder why revenues are 25% of projected.

missstimpsnoqualmie, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 12:39 PMWah Wah Wah. The casino is disgusting and I'm glad its losing money. Maybe it will disappear altogether. As someone who has to see it from my living room window every day, and hear its ventilation system, I could give a crap about what's happening to the tribe. Most of the people working there aren't even from the tribe. They are just kickin' back, waiting to collect the $$ without having to work at all. What a shock.The tribe did nothing to make the community welcome them, doesn't care about the noise and traffic they brought in and now we should care about a stinky, nasty place that hosts grandmas in their sweatpants?Good riddance.

coffeetimeKingston, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 10:19 AMFor all you gamblers reading this, the next time you go to a casino, look around at the other gamblers and ask yourself how many of them lack health insurance or anything resembling an emergency savings account or viable retirement account. Yet here they are, smoking, drinking and gambling. Years (weeks?) down the road, when their financial house of cards finally collapses, many people will be hollering that the rest of us need to come together to bail them out, all in the name of "compassion." Sorry, but as Jo Dee Messina would sing, "My give-a-damn's busted."

KellyGymKirkland, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 9:40 AMI am a snoqualmie tribe member. I have watched this divided behavior for many many years. I think we should have focused more on the education, counseling & health care programs & getting ourselves healthy on the inside before tackeling a BIG BUSINESS like the casino. I have heard Ted Kennedy say "With great opportunity comes great responsibility"! If we cannot communicate in a positive way with each other as a tribe, how can we communicate to the communities around the positive experience they will have at our business & it's services? Just my thoughts ~Kelly~

Loannightmare101Seattle, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 9:20 AMdetermined the tribe was not keeping current on reimbursements on some contracts and grants, had advanced "large sums of money" without getting paid back, and that inaccurate record keeping made getting paid more challenging.Oversight? Generally Accepted Accounting Principle's? Seems someone was playing Santa.Stay away from gambling. This whole thing seems like an invented legal fiction. Tribe of 600? Land for a mega-plex casino, funded from 'Vegas, baby'???Didn't any lights go off in anyone's head that this sounds too good to be true?If sovereign, how do tribes get tax-exemption and tax benefits (welfare/etc.)??? If you are sovereign, reject all benefits from the federal government. If you accept 'benefits' and entitlements from the US taxpayer, then you must pay all other taxes and responsibilities--including paying taxes on the "earnings" (ill-gotten gains) from gambling. You shouldn't be able to sit on the fence and just pick flowers from both fields without dealing with the weeds and the thorns like the rest of us.

coffeetimeKingston, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 10:19 AMFor all you gamblers reading this, the next time you go to a casino, look around at the other gamblers and ask yourself how many of them lack health insurance or anything resembling an emergency savings account or viable retirement account. Yet here they are, smoking, drinking and gambling. Years (weeks?) down the road, when their financial house of cards finally collapses, many people will be hollering that the rest of us need to come together to bail them out, all in the name of "compassion." Sorry, but as Jo Dee Messina would sing, "My give-a-damn's busted."

KellyGymKirkland, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 9:40 AMI am a snoqualmie tribe member. I have watched this divided behavior for many many years. I think we should have focused more on the education, counseling & health care programs & getting ourselves healthy on the inside before tackeling a BIG BUSINESS like the casino. I have heard Ted Kennedy say "With great opportunity comes great responsibility"! If we cannot communicate in a positive way with each other as a tribe, how can we communicate to the communities around the positive experience they will have at our business & it's services? Just my thoughts ~Kelly~

CalumetWalla Walla, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 8:08 AMBefore the Snoqualmie Casino opened, there were 27 casinos in this state, with a majority of them in the Puget Sound area. Why did the Snoqualmie Tribe think we needed another one? There is only so much money to go around...Here's the list:

Le8royGraham, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 8:07 AMThe Tribe needs to offer more! The slots are set too high for working folks. We don’t want to start by putting $1.00 or more to start playing a machine. Offer more at the buffet. The Muckleshoot offer a “free” meal if you stay in the casino for at least two hours. Normally, my free meal cost $50.00. A great way to make money! Also, officer a “large” smoke free area. Most of the people frequenting casinos are non-smokers.

CitizenTedTukwila, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 7:33 AMI live within rock throwing distance of "The biggest and best in the northwest" and refuse to give those greedy slobs and more money. They have the WORST service anywhere and all they want is more, more, more. They rape your wallet at every opportunity for beer, food, etc. and act like you're putting them out for wanting something. Oh, and have a look at the fireworks stands the week after the fourth. Disgusting. It looks just like the slums they live in 1/4 mile up the road. They even have the nerve to sell "Native Pride" hats. They must be proud of filth.I will bet that within two years we hear news reports of tribal members or management skimming money too.

dmpiSeattle, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 6:48 AMEven if they met the rosy forecast, 375 million in debt to generate 12 million is only a 3.2% return. Maybe they think there is some growth here, but I doubt it. I think it's mostly a case of bad timing and overcapacity. Also they look like they try to target the younger folks. Not sure that's a good idea either. Everyone knows old folks have the dough.

botton dwellerRandle, WA2131 commentsSeptember 26, 2009 at 6:10 AMCan't keep records of contracts and , recievables and payouts, and grants.SOUNDS JUST LIKE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT No bid contracts in Iraq, and disappearing money for Katrina Victums. So what is the problem??

flipitoverSeattle, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 6:04 AM"Big payoff eluding troubled tribe"Maybe somebody forgot to tell them.................we're in a RECESSION...!!!!People (normal people) don't go to blow money in a Casino when they're out of a job or behind on mortgage payments or on unemployment or have reduced weekly hours or are job hunting or are trying to make ends meet.Just a little free tip for the dipsh*ts at "The Tribe".

poundingsurfSeattle, WASeptember 26, 2009 at 6:02 AMThe ads for the casino all show rich and well dressed couples enjoying the casino life, but when half the local economy is in decline, how can they expect to extract cash from the unemployed? I saw this coming before it opened. How much does it take to support a tribe of 600? I laugh heartily.

I say put the boots to this man's backside now? The man is definitely a crook and he's eyeingthe FNPF million?If others can geta no return loan from the FNPF whynot ask for 10 million? So what i'msaying is that before he start tonegotiate for a no return FNPF loangrab the bugger and put the boot tohis backside.

Fijian's don't earn enough already and to lure them into a casino to WASTE their hard earned money will kill them...Poverty and prostitution will rise, Violence will rise, Stealing and home invasions will get worse...The government will need to spend more money to counter all of these...Common Sense.

I do hope that common sense will prevail for the sake of all Fijians and all who live in this beautiful country.

Don't fix what's not broken...Fiji is beautiful as it is.

This is what people come to see..the untouched Fiji. If people want casino's they can go to Vegas..

No Stan the regime will not be "forcing people to visit and gamble". It will however be "forcing people" not to enter on the grounds of their racial profile. Suggest you and other like minded people gave a good long think about the implications of this on others rather rhan just thinking about yourselves?

Hey, bring it on,we need somethinglike a Casino where we can go andgamble legally! Look we gamble allthe time in Suva, but we have to pay someone to keep an eye out, forpolice or anyone coming to the house, during our illegal activities. Thats just not right,toput that much pressure on us gamblers.Whenever i travel to Vegasto gamble, its the US that gets my money and not FIJI? Second it willgive the hookers, a clean place toply their trades and they'd madedecent rates from their clientele?It'll be all good-i'm sure?

I live a few minutes from the Snoqualmie Casino and disapprove wholeheartedly of investing money in Fiji.

The comments reprinted from Washington newspapers are 100% right on and reflect feelings of most non-tribal members in our community of 3.6 million people.

The Snoqualmie Tribe is a newly recognized and is an infant government led by non-tribal members. There are 1200 enrolled tribal members and they have hired non-tribal self enriching outsiders to lead the tribe in most investments. The current leaders have a history of bad financial investments and management skills.

In April 2011 their current leadership decided to pay one person $14 million dollars to leave the casino and never come back. This same leader decided it was better to sign financial notes for $385 million dollars to build a a casino building worth only $175 million at best.

Finally, these leaders cannot pay their bills on time! The US government gives them free grant money and they fall all over themselves to be current each month!!!